Machine for manufacturing belts.



J. W. BLODGETT. MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURlNG BELTS.

Patented Jan. 4,

APPLICATION FILED' FEB. 23, 1907.

'nutren sliaiits @PATENT carica.,

JOHN W. IBL'ODGETT, -OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR,'BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO JOHN HOWARD MCELROY, TRUSTEE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE Foa MANUFACTURING BEtrs.

Specification of Letters Patent. i n Patented J an. 4;, 1916.

Original application filed September 9, 1905, Serial No. 277,766. Divided 'and this application led February To all 107mm, t may concern Be it lmown that I, JOHN W. BLoD'oii'rT, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, in the county of- Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Manufacturing Belts, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXactspecification.

in which application I originallyI claimed not only themethod but also the apparatus.

As the lordinary rubber belts liave-been` made prior to my invention, several diff rent layers of fabric, with a thin coating of rubber oneach side of each piece of fabric,

have been rolled together, and the belt thusv made by the compound layers is, vulcanized or cured in what are known as belt-curing presses, which consist of top -and bottom plates with hollow interiors, so that lthey can be heatedbysteam or gas suficiently to cure the belt. -IVith the use of these curing presses, it will beV apparent that only a single section, of-`a length depending on the length of the press, can be madel at a time,

so that the process 'is intermittent, as it were, as bi a single section is made at a time, after which the press is opened and another section drawn into it and cured, and'so on, until the desired length is completed.

By my invention, instead of vusing a curing press for belts, I use a rotary apparatus' that will cure a belt by continuous process, and at any desired rate of speed, so that if a'continuous strip of fabrc is fed intoA the apparatus, a belt of any desired length is produced.

To illustrate my invention, I annex hereto ar sheet of drawings, in which the saine reference characters are used to designate identical partsv in all the figures, of which,-

Figure 1 isa side elevation of the ap Serial No. 358,830.

'.paratus, the centers of the troughs Abeing broken out vto -shorten the View, as well as.

the troughs being shown as immediately` adjacent to each other, when, `in fact, they are preferably separated by al veryv considerable distance; Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the same, but with a portion o'f-,the covers of twoV of the troughs brokeiijagway; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section throughone ofthe calendering rolls.

The apparatus employed preferably consists of three troughs or receptacles a, b and c, which, except as hereinafter indicated,

may be of the same structure. Theyware preferably of a rectangular shape, and one of them is so constructed as to hold the liquid or paste composition, and all are preferably provided with covers l to assist 4in retaining tlielieat applied to the rollers e, of which there are a plural-ity, prefero ably journaled vhorizontally on the same level.' Thesurface of these rollers may be `smooth, if asmooth belt is to be 'manufacturedfor annularly grooved, as shown, if a corrugated belt is to be manufactured, such as is shown in n iy Patent No. 761,054, dated May 24, 1904. These rollers, as shown, are hollow, andsome of them are necessarilyso, and all `of'theni are preferably hollow, and are provided at one end with the hollow journal f adjacent the end of the pipe g, through which steam -or other heating fluid may he intnei'luceilrl.jfiFhe.jvolllj i, j', y

nal f is, of course, mounted to rotate in the sliding box h, which isprefei'ably mounted to move horizontallyv in the dovetailed ways formed on or secured to the side of the trough, and the aperture i, through which the journal passes through the side of the box, is slightly elongated horizontally, as

shown, iii order that the rollers may be ad-' justed to bring them as near to or'far from each other as is desired.

solid, and have secured thereon the gear wheels 7' of the same size, by which all the The journals :atI the other end of the rollers are preferably' rollers in each trough are:compelledV to 'rol' j `be provided with the threaded apertures in' ,and without being sti-etched any.

which the pipes g are secured. 'Io accurately regulate the distance between each of the rollers, I provide the set screws le, whichl are screwed through thelugs Zat the ends' of 'thevboxes andltake against the outer sides of the outermost 'boxes h, while the .remaining sides of the boxes have screwed therein 'the headed bolts m,rthe heads of the adjacent bolts contacting, sotliat by screwing the bolts in or out, the distance between` the adjacent rollers can be accurately adv-pj.

Suitable mechanism for driving all of the rollers is provided, such, for instance, as the sprocket chain n engaging the sprocketv wheels o and y) on the shafts of twofofthe rolls in tlieboXes 'al and t, aaid-.tlie l justed.

sprocket .Chain Q .engaging the Spino-diet Wheels fr and s secured on the ends of two of the rollers in the"b.oXes b ande. Thetroughs are provided at their ends with the-` apertures t and u, by which the belt o eny ters' and eniergesfrom each trough, each of these apertures preferably being placed at vabout the level of the tops of the rollers.

The operation of making the'belt with my improved apparatus is as follows: The troughA wis filled tonearl-y `the level of the apertures` t and u with the rubber, or similar compound, `whichzis jto be used in filling the belt, and the" beltefi-sintroduced into this trough through tlieaperture t, in a loose condition, e..,vwi'tliout being stretched. lIf the belt of my aforesaidl patent is being manufactured, this fabric 'consists of a `knitted fabric as itcomes from the machine,

i '4"- fabric of the belt o passing through the i' trough a, passes over thelirst roller, under the second roller, over the third one, and

soon, for as many rollers as may be employed, and I preferably use ay considerable number, such as nine or eleven, in order that the compound may` have a chance to thoroughly saturate the fabric' by running through it and being pressed int-o it by the action of the rollers. I may apply some heat to the rollers in this trough, to heat the compound just enough to cause it to be thinner vand penetrate the fabric, but not enough to ,vulcanize or harden it.

saturated with and having the coating,v

The fabric lthus pressed into it, passes from the aperture u to the aperture t ofthe trough Z), which is preferably located at a considerable distance therefrom, so that the fabric will dry to some extent and any surplus materialidrop od before it reaches the receptacle Z), which is provided with a similar set of rollers, but

Apreferably adjusted somewhat more closely together so as to grip` the fabric tighter, and which may be fewer in number, say,'three to live. lVhile it is preferable to employ a trough, and cover it, itis not vital for this set of rollers, as it is not needed to hold the composition as is the case with the first set.

The

These rollers may also have heated fluid applied thereto, through their hollow interiors, to assist in drying out the belt, but their primary function is to grip the belt tightly, so that it may be stretched in passing to the third trough `or, receptacle c, which is provided with a set of curing rollers similar to those iii the other troughs,

which are necessarily supplied #with steam` oryother heating` fluid at a high temperature, 'so'. as to cure the belt as it passes between 'them-,A I .may of course 4omit the second troughand depend upon the rollers of the first vtrough to grip the belttightly enough `to stretch it as'it passes to the third or curing trough. I may employ as many rollers v"this trough as are necessary to cure it, ordinarily nine or eleven, but it will be apa'rent that the number of rollers necessary ill depend upon the heat employed and the ipheral velocityo-f the rollers. Of 'course closed trough acts as an oven andother heatfpmay be applied to it than that applied to the interior of the rollers.` Byregulating the rateQof speed at.which the rollers run, the curing can' be regulated toa nicety, so

that the belt emerges from this trough or oven completely curedand ready to be wound up on a. spool, or cut off into the desired'lengths. rlf`he trough c' isl necessarily located at a considerable distance from the' trough Z) in order to secure the desired stretching effect, `T which is .preferably broughtabout by having the rollers in the ltrough e run at a higher peripheral ve locity than the rollers in the vtrough l), and

.stretch the belt to the desired extent.

The stretching effect between the troughs b and c is indicated iii-Fig. 2 by the fact that the .belt jv where it .enters the trough c is narrower than where it emerges from the trough b. v

By the employment of my invention, it will be apparent that I producel a belt by continuous opera-tion, and that by varying the number, sizeand speed of the rollers, rI am enabled to produce it at any rate of speed desired, thus making my method and apparatus very much more desirable than the methods and apparatus heretofore used.

To drive the apparatus slowlyfrom a line shaft, I preferably employ the worin shaft w shown in Fig. 2, carrying a IWorm meshing` with -a worm gear' y lsecured on one of the shafts, and I mightdispense With the f chains n and 17 by adding a worm gear to a shaft in each trough and adding other worms to the shaft o, as indicated in vdotted lines `at'w in Fig. 2.

. While I have described my invention as embodied in the apparatus which I consider best adapted. lfor carrying out its purposes,

when the aforesaid `original.application No.Y 277,766 was filed,` Ait will be understood that it is capable of modifications, and that I do.

not desire to b e limited in the ,interpretation of the following `claims except as may be necessitated by the state of the prior art;

in horizontal alinement below the top of the trough, the rollers'inounted' in s'aid boxes,

and gearing for connecting andfdriving the.

the combination with the frame work, of the [ways for bearing boxes on the sides thereof,

rollers.

2. Inan apparatusv of the class,described, the combination with the trough ada-pted'tocontain a liquid filling compositiomof'fthe adjustable bearing boxesmonted therei`n in horizontal alineineiit below the topiof the trough, the rollers mounted in said-boxes,

and gearing for connecting and driving then rollers' inunison. l

3. In an apparatus of .the class described, the combination with the trough adapted to contain a liquid'lling composition, of the adjustable bearing Aboxes therein in horif zontal alinement below7 the top of the trough,

the hollow rollers mounted in said boxes, means for applying heat to the inte-rior of the rollers, and gearing for connecting and driving the rollers.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with the plurality of troughs, of the adjustable bearing boxes mounted 'in each of said troughs, and means for driving the rollers of one of said troughs at a higher peripheral velocity than the others.

5. In an apparatus of the class described,

`iialed in said bearing boxes in substantial aliiiement with each other, so that a belt may be not only gripped between the adjacent rollers but also stretched tightly about one half of the periphery 'of each of the intermediate rollers.

6. In an` apparatus of the class described, the combination with the frame work, of the ways for bearing boxes on the sides thereof,

the bearing boxes located in said Ways, means vfor adjusting vsaid bearing boxes to and from each other, three or more rollers journaled in said bearing boxes in substantial Valinement with each other, so that a belt may be not only grippedbetween the adjacent roll-A ers but also stretched tightly about one half of the periphery' of each of the intermediate rollers, and gearing vconnecting all of the rollers'for driving them in unison. 7. In an apparatus of the class described,

v the combination with the framework, of the ways forbearing boxes on the sides4v thereof, the bearing boxes located in said ways, three or more hollow rollers having a hollow beai-,

- ingat one end'journaled in said bearing ...boxes in'substantialv alinement with each other so'thatiafbelt -inay be not only gripped between the adjacent rollersbut also stretched tightly about` one` halfofv Athe periphery lof each of the intermediate'rollers, heating `fluid pipes opening into the bearing boxes for the hollow bearings, and means for driving the rollers in unison.

8. In an apparatusof the class described,

the bearing boxes located in said -\\\'ays,'iiieans for adjusting said bearing boxes t0l and from each other, three oi. more rollers having a hollow bearing lat one end journaled in said vbearing boxes in substantial 'alinement with each vother so that al belt may be not onlygripped between vthe adjacent rollers but also l stretched-tightly about one half of the pe- ',riphery'of each of the intermediate rollers, heating fluid pipes opening into the bearing boxes containing the `hollow bearings, and

rollers having a hollow bearing at one end journaled in said bearing boxes in substantial alinement with each other that the belt may be not only gripped between the adjusting rollers Abut. also stretched tightly about kone half of the periphery of each of the intermediaterollers, heating fluid pipes opening into the bearing boxes of the hollow bearings, and meansfoi driving the rollers of both series so as to stretch the belt as it passes from the iii-st series to the second.

l0. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of one series of rollers mounted in a trouglnof the second series that a belt may be not only gripped between the adjacent rollers but also stretched tightly l about one half of the periphery of each of the intermedia-te rollers, meansfor adjusting the rollers tov and from each other in order to-Iv grip the belt, gearing connecting alltlie rollers for driving them so that a belt will be stretched in passing f-rom'the first series to the second series, vand means for heating the rollers on second series to cure 'a belt passing thereover while it is stretched.

11. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination witli-the closed trough, of

the ways forv bearing boxes on the sidesA thereof, the bea-ring boxes located in said ways, means for adjusting said bearing boxes to and from each other, three or more rollers journaled in said bearing 'boxes in substan-` tial alinement with each vother so that the belt may not only be gripped between the adjacent rollers but also stretched tightly about one half of the periphery of leach of the interv mediate rollers, and means for heating the trough 12'. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with the closed trough, of the Ways for bearing boxes on the sides thereof, the bearing boxes located in'said ways, means for adjusting said bearing boxes to `vand `from each other, three or more rollers journaled in said bearing boxes'in substantial alinement with each other Yso that the belt may not only be gripped between the adjacent rollers but also stretched tightly about one half of the periphery of each of the intermediate rollers, means for heating the trough, and vgearing connecting all the rollers foi-driving them in unison.

. 13. In an apparatus for the purpose described, thecombination lwith a framework, of adjustable bearing boxes mounted therein, three or more rollers journaled in said bearing boxes in substantial alinement with each other so that a belt may be not only gripped between the adjacent rollers but also stretched tightly about one half of the periphery of each of'the intermediate rollers,v

said rollers being provided with circular grooves in their peripheries, the crests ofv the grooves on each roller being directly opposite the hollows of the grooves of the adjacent rollers, and continuously meshing gearing for connecting and driving the rollers so that the material will be carried continuously between said adjacent rollers directly by the continuous rotation thereof..

14. -In an apparatus for the purpose described, the combination with a framework, of adjustable bearing boxes mounted therein, three or more rollers journaled in said bearing boxes in substantial alinement with each other so that a belt may be not only gripped between the adjacent rollers but also stretched tightly about one-lialf of the periphery of each of the intermediate rollers,

said rollers being provided with circularA grooves vin therperipheries, thel crests of thegrooves on each roller being directly T opposite'the hollowsof the grooves of the adjacent rollers, means for 4applying heat .to thefinterior of the rollers, and continuouslyfmeshing gearing for connecting and driving the rollers so that the material will be carried continuously between said adjacent rollers directly by the continuous rota.-

tion thereof.

15; In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with one series of rollers having circular corrugations on their peripheries mounted in a trough, 'of ak second series of rollers mounted in a framework having circular corrugations on their pej first series to the second "series, and means for, heating the rollers of the second series to cure a belt passing thereover while-it is stretched.

16. In an apparatus ofthe class described,

the combination with one series of rollers having circular corrugations on their peripheri'es mounted in a trough, of a second series of rollers mounted in a framework having circular corrugations on their peripheries, the grooves of the second set of rollers being slightly narrower and closer together than those of the first set, said second series of rollers being journaled in substantial alineinent with each other so that a belt may be notonly gripped between the adjacent rollers but also stretched tightly -about one-half of the periphery of each of the intermediate rollers, means for adjusting the -ro'llers to and from each. other in order to grip the belt, and gearing connecting all the rollers for driving them so that the belt will be stretched in passing from the first series to the second series.

17. In an apparatus of the classvdescribed,A

the combination with one series of rollers having circular corrugations therein mounted in a trough, of a second series of rollers having similar circular corrugations with their grooves slightly narrower and closer together than those of the first set, said second series of rollers being journaled in sub# stantial alinement with each other so that a belt may be not only gripped between the 4adjacent rollersbutalso stretched tightly i zibont one-half f the periphery of each of In witness'whereof I. have hereunto nset the intermedite rollers, means for adjust- I my hand and aixed my..seal this 18th day ring'- the rollers vto and from each other in Y ofsFebruary f'A. '1). 1907.' i

order togrip the belt, and gearing connect- JOIlN W. BLODGETT. [1.. s.]

ing all the rollers for driving them so that Witnesses: 5 A

the belt will be stretched in 'passing-from' JOHN H.1McELRoY,

the first sries to the second senes. Y M. S. REEDER, 

